"Are you sure it's okay?" Darnley said.
"We all told you that it was," Beckett assured him. Smiling she playfully pushed on his arm and told him, "Go sit before the carts get to us, I won't tell you again."
"Oh, fine," Darnley said in mock annoyance. He hugged her quickly with one arm before he was heading to the table next to the one Beckett was sitting at with her family.
"Mom?" Julia asked.
"Yes," Beckett said, looking at her.
"Did anyone want to go to the Conservatory?" Julia said.
"I think they want to leave it for another time," Castle answered for his wife. "Which makes sense, it's a lot of traveling in three days."
"I think it was fun," Eliza said with a smile as she was speaking firmly.
"It was, but hopefully you guys will enjoy just playing tomorrow," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when both girls were nodding firmly and was about to speak again when she saw the first cart reaching their table. They had been divided to three of them; since there were so many; and theirs was first since she and Castle would be able to speak with the women pushing the carts.
Talking to the first woman in Mandarin, Castle wasn't surprised when she appeared startled before telling him what was in each container. He and Beckett were talking to the others as well to see what they would take and once they had enough at first, they sat back down at their table. "Hopefully that's enough for now," he commented with a smile.
"It should be," Martha told her son, seeing all the containers they had.
The four families were quiet while they ate at first, hungry with all the walking they'd done after lunch to that point. They had stopped in more stores the further north they'd gone on Grant, spending the most time after what they had in the first store at a tea shop. It had taken them a little to walk back so when they did start talking again it was a while after they'd eaten their first bites.
"What will we do when we get to their house?" David was asking Castle and Beckett.
"They'll give us a tour," she answered first. Beckett then looked at Nkosi; at the same table since the two families were able to fit there; and told him, "You'll go in first."
"I don't need to," Nkosi said. "I will go with Patrick, Skye and Mary. It was their home for far longer."
"But the Dorseys will lead," the investigator said from the other table. Skye checked to make sure Iris was okay with her food since they were getting more containers and she said to the writers as they were looking at her, "Did you forget I could speak that as well?"
"A little," Castle said. "It's what we did last time we were here." He looked at the containers on the cart that came to them. He found it had sesame seed balls and he got enough for them though once he was sitting again, he saw they had enough for Josie. He was about to ask his wife if she could have one when she was asking his mother and her father as he smiled while watching her.
"Do you think Josie could have one of these?" Beckett said.
"I would let her try to bite it," Martha said. "And see if she likes it."
"Should they let her eat the entire thing though?" Jim asked.
"Maybe not, just half," Martha said, smiling at Josie who was finishing the inside of her bao.
"We'll eat these when we finish up with our food," Beckett said with a smile to Julia and Eliza.
"And don't go that fast," Castle told them, looking at Eliza in particular.
"I won't," the little girl said, leaning against him as she was sitting against his left. "Love you Daddy," she said.
"Are you sure that's for me?" Castle asked her teasingly. "Or your shu mai?"
"Daddy," Eliza said with a giggle.
Castle leaned over and kissed the top of her head before he asked, "Did you tell them what dessert is going to be for real?"
Smiling at the way her father had said that, Eliza shook her head and asked, "Are we going to go as soon as we get off the cable car?"
"We will," Beckett said, fighting her amusement since her husband and their second youngest were looking at her to answer. "But we need to get back there first."
"Mom wants to go too," Alexis said with a smile. She laughed with the others as Eliza was wriggling and Josie was squealing to their mother's right. After they had calmed down, she turned back to the last of her food before they were all eating the sesame seed balls. She was looking at Josie doing that, since Beckett was helping her taking a bite and watching her closely to make sure she was okay eating.
"Mama," Josie was saying in what sounded like protest as she reached for the sesame ball that was still in her mother's hand.
"Hold on sweetie," Beckett told her with a smile, holding it so the baby would be able to eat another bite. While she was chewing, she smiled and leaned over, pressing her lips to her temple before she sat up and watched her youngest until she was satisfied, she was okay. "At least we know she likes red bean paste," she commented to her husband.
"I know," Castle said, putting his card for the bill. "What's that for?" he asked Louis as the young man was trying to hand him some money.
"For the tip," Louis replied.
Waving it off Castle said, "Don't worry, I've got it."
"Then we'll pay for dessert," Alexis said.
"Not really," Castle said easily. He wasn't surprised when the couple started to protest but he quickly stopped them as they were standing up to leave as the others were doing the same. "Our treat," he said, knowing his daughter still wanted to protest before he moved to get Josie to hand her to his wife.
"We're going back?" Mari asked Julia as she went over to her.
"Yeah, I can't wait," she replied. She took her friend's hand and they headed down the stairs before they were walking down Grant and she thought of something about the Ghirardelli sundaes they knew they would be getting. Julia considered going to ask her parents, but Mari was asking her about Alamo Square, and she turned her attention to her friend since Marie and Kathleen were listening and they walked back to Union Square and Powell.
"Wow, that's a lot of choices," David said, holding the menu for the Ghirardelli ice cream shop.
"We were going to suggest something," Castle said. "But not for all of us, I would say for the families… or two together."
"He's talking about the Earthquake sundae," Mary said.
"Earth… that one?" Rebecca asked, her eyes wide as she looked at it on the menu.
"I was going to suggest that you share with Patrick and Trevor," Beckett said.
"The kids aren't going to eat that much," David said.
"And you three men?" Beckett asked.
"Well," Darnley said, dragging that word out before his kids were squealing in their laughter at him. "We can, I would say we should."
After the others had agreed to that, Castle turned to the others in their family and they started picking their ice cream flavors though they ended up choosing the same ones they'd gotten before. "We're going to share right?" he asked the girls though he was teasing them.
"Yeah," Eliza said, sticking her tongue out at him. She then got off her chair and went over to him before she asked, "Can I sit on your lap Daddy?"
"Of course," Castle said quickly before he set her on it. He hugged her and kissed her temple before asking, "Are you tired?"
"No, can we walk around again after?" Eliza asked.
"I think we might have to wait and see if we're too exhausted for that," Beckett said, cupping her husband's cheek when he looked to her. She was a little startled when he grabbed her hand and kissed the palm which made her smile before she said, "Rick," slightly warningly.
"I'll be good," Castle said, looking with her at Eliza when she suddenly piped up and was making them all laugh.
"You don't need to be Daddy," the little girl said.
"I'm afraid I'm going to need to," Castle replied with a laugh while the others were doing too. "But that was it," he told his wife, though he was turning her hand to press a kiss to the back of it.
Beckett squeezed it firmly in response before they let go of one another and she turned her attention to the worker who was coming over to their table with their sundae. She wasn't surprised when the girls were turning their attention to the ice cream and she was as well, though she got a little whipped cream on the end of a spoon before giving it to Josie. She smiled when the baby was rubbing her tongue over the sweet on it before she gently took the spoon back. She got some of the raspberry sorbet on the spoon and whipped cream along with a little bit of the hot fudge. Able to tell that the baby was enjoying the spoonful, she got another for herself and started alternating between giving a little to Josie and eating her share. When she had finished, she set down her spoon, watching the girls as they were looking at the old chocolate making equipment together. Keo was sitting on Nkosi's lap but she smiled when the baby was hurrying over with the others.
"I think she'll be ready for bed soon," Castle said as he and Beckett turned to their youngest at a sound coming from her to see she was yawning.
"I don't know if it'll be soon," Beckett said with a smile. She kissed the top of the baby's head, watching as Castle was taking her hand and playfully blowing on it to Josie's laughter. "Especially when you do that," she said while he was leaning down to kiss her. "Sit up love," she then said. "You're going to hurt your back." She then looked to her right where Darnley was sitting and said teasingly, "That's my daughter's seat."
"Oh stop," the carpenter groaned. "I'm so full."
Beckett smiled and said, "And you're a liar." She couldn't help laughing softly as Darnley immediately became serious and she said, "Would you want to walk more after we get back to where the sign is?"
"Just along the street?" Darnley asked.
"Yeah, the girls want to," Castle said since he was listening to their conversation.
"But we won't be going too far," Beckett told them. "The youngest will be asleep probably before we get to the sign."
"Are we going now?" Jim asked.
"We are," Castle replied while he was looking at his watch.
Once the parents could get their kids from the railing, they walked back to the sign on Jefferson before they went into a souvenir shop that was on the south side of the street.
"I'm surprised you wanted to come here," Skye said to Beckett.
"The girls like to look at everything," she explained. "Especially the shirts."
"Oh yeah," Darnley said, standing with them. "A lot of really nice ones."
"I thought they were asleep?" Skye asked him since he was gently pushing back and forth the stroller where both Maddy and Keo were.
"I want them to stay asleep," Darnley explained. He then smiled and said, "Hopefully they'll sleep after we put them in the car."
"I think they will," Skye said, smiling at the two before she looked up at the others. "You weren't serious about us going first at the house tomorrow are you?"
"You don't want to?" Beckett asked in slight surprise.
"Not really, we don't know the two," Skye explained.
"I think what she means is that we want to stay with our families," Darnley added. He smiled and said, "They're expecting you said, right?"
"They are," Beckett said, nodding. "But they're still early… were you thinking of taking them something?"
"No, but you and Rick are, aren't you?" Skye asked with a smile.
"We are, some unisex onesies," Beckett said. "Since we know what to buy after Eliza."
"That didn't drive you crazy?" Darnley inquired as his friend was looking at Josie in the stroller she was standing behind.
"Not really," Beckett said. "I was more focused on my pregnancy than anything else."
"I kind of wish I'd been there when you first held her," Darnley suddenly said. He saw the way his friend was looking at him and smiled telling her, "The love in your eyes; seeing it in Trev's eyes when we first met Maddy and Keo was incredible. And since you were always on the fence about actually having kids…"
"Actually?" Skye asked.
"Yeah, we'd talk about raising kids," Darnley began, smiling at his friend. "But the actual having them was where she was a little concerned."
"Your body shape?" Skye asked.
"Back then," Beckett said quickly. "But as I got older and I warmed slightly to the idea of being pregnant to have a child of my own I spoke with my doctor and she said I was lucky in my hips." She was startled when there was a snort of suppressed laughter behind her and she turned around to see that it was Mary.
"What was that for grá?" Skye said, looking at her wife in surprise.
"You," Mary replied, going to her wife and squeezing her hand firmly. "You do know that back in the past you were always angry with your body shape."
"Why… oh I remember," Skye started to say in confusion before it came to her. "It was because it made us look different."
"And you more masculine because your hips were smaller," Mary said.
Beckett was about to say her hips hadn't been that big before she realized she was thinking of how they were at that moment. She shook herself and recalled what she had looked like in their past life and said, "She's right, it did help you."
"My chest was as flat too," Skye commented with a smile.
"Ours were the same," Beckett said. "Except for after I had three kids."
Nodding Skye said, "But we were twins."
"We were," Beckett replied before her husband was walking over to them with Eliza on his hip. "Is she out?"
"Almost," Castle said. He glanced back and saw Alexis and Louis were making their way to them and commented, "Looks like they're almost too."
Seeing their three youngest, Skye said to the other parents, "Time to head on home?"
"I think so," Beckett said before they were getting the others until they could return to their cars and the Mill Valley home.
May 29th, 2021
I'm here Evangeline! Tired from so much walking and I hope that I don't fall asleep here while I'm writing in you!
So first is we went into the city and to Chrissy Field and wow, I was remembering so much stuff there since I flew there of course. It was the same for Skye since she remembered a lot more because of course she flew there until she was, I think in her forties, like she is now… sorta. Anyways, Mari remembered a tiny little bit too though just what it looked like. It's annoying since of course we're not going to remember much more for a long time; I can't wait to grow up!
Julia was about to start another paragraph when she felt Mari's hand on her shoulder and looked at her, becoming concerned when she saw the way she had her hand over her face. She opened her mouth to ask her what was wrong when her friend was speaking first.
"Do you have a tissue? My nose is bleeding," Mari whispered.
"Here," Marie said, as she'd heard that. She opened the dresser drawer she was writing on top of and took out the tissue box before saying, "Sorry, it was kind of in my way."
"That's okay," Julia said, looking at her friend in concern. "What happened?"
"It was itchy on the end and I rubbed my nose," Mari said once she got some of the tissue to catch the blood. "And that was all it took."
"Does that happen a lot?" Kathleen asked.
"It happens to our mom a lot," Marie added.
"Not all the time but if I move it too much it does that," Mari said. "Sorry about that."
"Don't worry," Julia said, hugging her tightly. "Are you going to go back to your diary?"
"Yeah, you guys go back to it too okay?" Mari told them.
Julia squeezed her friend tightly before she returned to her desk and picked up her pen before starting to write again.
When we left the field, we went straight to Fisherman's Wharf and had to take that super long walk from the parking. It's funny but I might always remember that from now on, and I have to lol since I'm doing that in my head. Anyway, when we finally got to Jefferson we saw the huge sign for the Wharf and Marie and Kath's sisters thought it was super cool. And even though she's seen it already, Lizzy told me she thought it was super cool all over again. I laughed of course but I told her I thought it was too, which I do of course!
We made it to Pier 39, well, I guess I should say we got to the sea lion statue and the other families took pictures there since we already did that last time. Mom also said it was to save some time since we had so much of course. We went to the pier after that and I was finally able to show Mari the sea lions and she loved them! She thought they were so cute, and she loved the way they would bark and then jump off or jump up onto the docks they had. We all took pictures for a while before we went to the very end of the pier around the sea lions and there we were looking at Alcatraz. I guess it's not a surprise that Mom and Dad were asked if they'd want to go back on the island again. I was super surprised they said yes but Grandmama and Mamó suggested we wait for Lizzy and Josa to grow up more for that since now we're all more in touch with our abilities we need to be older… and the three of us together too since we're more powerful of course. And really I can wait.
We walked down the pier and went back to Jefferson to walk back around to Boudin and we had lunch there. Mari liked that too and luckily Iris did too since she doesn't really like bread that much. We got to go to the Musée Mécanique and there I really wanted to show Mari since it's so much fun and guess what? She loved it. I don't know how she couldn't since it was so, so fun to get to play games together. We went around with Gram and Josa in her stroller since it was naptime for her. We got to watch the old movies in the viewers they have and they were fun. We went to the photobooth that we went to last time and took four pictures together. We did three of them funny, us making rabbit ears over each other's heads, second we were looking at each other and sticking our tongues out at each other and then the third I let her pretend to push me down out of the way of the camera. The last one we did seriously, but we did smile, and we had our arms around each other's shoulders. I'm going to keep the original and Mari will take the copy of it (we played rock, paper, scissors for that) and I'll frame it. We really didn't want to leave the arcade but we had to eventually, but it doesn't stop there!
After leaving Fisherman's Wharf we went on a cable car down to Union Square and there Mari and I had permission to stand on the platform on the back! Louis was nearby and we had fun though of course we had to hold onto the railing really tightly. But it was the most fun thing ever and Mari told me after she would love to do that again- at night we had to sit down but it was okay since we were tired by then. Anyways, we got to get smoothies at the mall and show the others the mall which they thought was really, really impressive especially Patrick since he loved the way the escalators were. I almost thought he wanted to shop but we had to keep moving. And we moved to get our smoothies (yummy again!) and then got to walk up to Union Square on the way to Chinatown. We didn't go to the Scottish store, but it's okay since there isn't really anything new to see. And we went over to Chinatown after and it was the best, I mean we just walked around the shops and stuff too, but I still loved it since I got to take pictures again and show Mari what the Chinatown was like here. She didn't mind it, even though she's been to the one in NYC but when I told her it was the oldest one she thought it made it even cooler. I do have to remember to say that at the first store we stopped at, Mari asked if we could buy B.F.F. bracelets there. I said of course we could, so we did and then we were picking out the pattern. They're lines, just lines since I thought that would look best on Mari and she thought the lines would look good on me. I told Mom and Dad about it and they both thought it was a good idea since we had bracelets like those when we were in our past lives.
We went way up Grant in the end which was fun, it doesn't matter that we didn't go into a ton of stores, I just love how it feels being there; both memories and how everything looks so cool. Though we did have to walk back down to the restaurant we were going to eat at and that took a while, but we got to it and we had Dim Sum again which was so, so good and I was really happy we got it again. I didn't sit with Mari but she liked it, so did everyone else. It's funny and makes me smile a little bit, but they were saying while we were going back to the cable cars that they did. The adults to Mom and Dad especially though I think they all remembered we went there in our past lives. We went back to Fisherman's Wharf and that time we walked in the other direction to Ghirardelli Square and walked around it a little so the others could see the fountain with the mermaids and the sign with the lights though it wasn't lit yet by then. We went over to the ice cream shop and got to have the Earthquake sundae again which I loved of course. Josa did too since Mom fed a little to her and all the kids liked it, the adults liked it and it was a fantastic ending to the day since we only went to a souvenir store before we came back home.
And I wrote for way too long and I'm almost falling asleep now Evangeline, so I have to say goodnight for sure and that I'll do my best to write about tomorrow since the plans changed a little. Night!
Finishing her entry, Julia breathed out and said to the other girls, "Did you finish right now?"
"Yeah, there was so much to write," Kathleen said.
"A ton," Mari said with a nod. "But do we have time to talk before we go to bed?"
Hurrying to the doorway, Marie was looking out the hallway before she shook her head and said, "I can hear them coming over to the stairs."
"Maybe it's better we go to bed," Kathleen said, having yawned then.
"Yeah, we have the chance to play tomorrow," Julia said in agreement.
"But I can't wait to go to the city tomorrow before we go home," Mari said.
"Me too," the other three girls said at the same time. The four were laughing together before they heard footsteps up to the doorway and they smiled before they moved to their beds to get ready as their parents came into the room to tuck them in and say goodnight.
"Kate," Castle called to his wife. He expected her to answer right away, but when there was only silence, he frowned at his reflection in the mirror before he walked into the bedroom and could see she was fast asleep already though he hadn't taken that long taking a shower. He smiled and quickly turned off the bathroom light before he was walking to the bed, setting his phone there and turning off the main light in the room. He sat on his side of the bed before he suddenly heard his wife sighing and he looked over his shoulder at her in time to see her eyes opening. "Hey," he told her quickly. "You don't need to get up," he said as he put his hand on her shoulder.
Shaking her head, Beckett moved his hand away carefully before she told her husband, "I wasn't planning on sleeping yet."
"Are you sure?" Castle asked as he stood up since she was holding the covers up.
"I'm sure," Beckett replied with a smile. "I wasn't planning on doing anything more than this though."
"Of course," Castle said with a nod. "But that begs the question, what did you want to do now?" He was surprised when she laughed and asked, "That was funny?"
"In the fact that you sounded like Skye saying that," Beckett explained. She leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before he was wrapping his arms around her tightly. They were involved in that for a while before they were parting, and he moved to whisper huskily in her ear as she was trembling in delight at the sensation.
"We need to do something or else I'm going to start touching you," Castle was telling his wife.
"More than you are already?" Beckett breathed out before he pulled away slightly from her.
"You don't want me to touch you at all?" Castle asked her, cupping her face in his hands.
Beckett had a moment to smile before he was leaning down to her and brushing his lips against her own. She sighed as he pulled away and told him, "But you're right, we're going to have a lot of people over tomorrow."
Carefully letting her go, Castle sighed and said, "I keep forgetting." He then realized what she'd said and asked, "Did you hear from May?"
"I did," Beckett replied with a smile. "I got the text while you were in the shower. They're going to bring the kids."
"Just the kids?" Castle asked.
"Diane and her family are spending the day in San Jose with May's mother," Beckett replied. "And May really wants to see me."
"I'm not surprised," Castle said. He reached up and gently brushed his fingers through her hair before he said, "I told Eliza about them coming."
"Before we knew for sure?" Beckett asked him in amusement.
"I had a feeling she'd make sure they would come out here," Castle replied. "She said she'd play with them; I hope the flower sisters will too."
Beckett laughed softly, since she knew the McDouglas girls referred to the youngest three by that, and said, "I'm sure they will. It's a lot of kids though."
"It won't take too long to cook," Castle commented.
"No," Beckett said, smiling. "Are you okay now?"
Castle was confused for a moment, but it came to him why she'd asked and he said quickly, "I am, but I'm going to need a constant conversation so I don't end up starting over again."
"Pervert," Beckett said, still smiling at him. They leaned into each other at that point and kissed gently before she told him, "I brought some letters with me."
"On your phone?" Castle asked.
Shaking her head, Beckett said seriously, "I have them with me." She moved around him to get off the bed and said as she was doing so, "I have no idea why I brought them, but I just wanted to."
"That's fine by me," Castle commented. "But what about my responses?"
"I brought them," Beckett said with a smile as she went to one of her drawers. She took out a plastic bag, the letters inside of there and she studied them for a moment before she was taking two with her back to the bed. "Mine is first," she told him, keeping him from taking his letter. "December 9th, 1937," she read first. "Keep going?" she asked in amusement, watching him obviously thinking that over to recall.
"Sure," Castle said, still a little unsure of what happened that day.
"You've gone into town and I've finished my sewing for the day," Beckett began reading. "And I have some time on my hands until you return so I believe I'll write until then. I was very happy with how you woke me this morning-"
"Wait," Castle said quickly. "Are you sure it's a good idea if we read this?"
"It is, they won't be too sexual," Beckett replied, smiling at his reaction. When he nodded slowly, she turned her attention back to the letter and continued by reading the same sentence again from the start. "I was very happy with how you woke me this morning, I thought you would think more of getting everything ready for Christmas, but you catered to me so well I will be sure to reward you for your kindness. I love you deeply… oh, you're home." She finished there since there was only her signature on the bottom of her message and told her husband, "I think I should have said note."
"Mine's basically the same," Castle said as he looked at what he'd written. "I remember now, you just handed yours to me, so I wrote a little note in return." He was about to start on it when his wife was putting her hand on his shoulder and making him stop as he looked at her in slight concern though she was quickly allaying his worry as she spoke soon after.
"I'm not really comfortable right now," Beckett told him. Before he could say anything to that she was moving and sitting on his lap, wrapping her arms around him. "Go ahead," she told him once she was set.
Castle was tempted to speak but decided he probably shouldn't before he turned his attention back to his note which he started to read. "My love," he began with. "I should say shame on you for reminding me about this morning, but I am so pleased you enjoyed it as much as you did. We must leave but of course I will reward you after you do the same for me. Promise me now that we can repeat the morning again tomorrow and I will get my gloves so we can go."
Beckett couldn't help laughing softly at her husband's words before she said, "I called you a sap after I read it."
"Of course you did," Castle replied. "It feels like it's a little weird, but we never really had many chances to write to each other. We were together all the time, which is why when I went to LA it was so difficult."
"It was," Beckett replied. She watched her husband carefully tossing their notes to his nightstand and then said, "What about another?"
"Should you… move?" Castle asked slowly.
"I'm fine here," Beckett said insistently.
Castle breathed out roughly before he said, "Okay, but I'm not going to really remember something sexual." He then studied her for a moment and said, "Unless it's what you want."
"It's not," Beckett replied, still smiling. "I just want to stay here."
"Okay, let me get my phone," Castle said, reaching for it. He was going onto the site that he used for dates and then said, "July twenty-third in 1949."
"What day was it?" Beckett asked him.
"A Saturday so we were on our own," Castle answered. He then smiled and told her, "I remembered what we did that evening."
"I kind of do too," Beckett said. "Go ahead and start."
"Okay," Castle said quickly. "I was in the kitchen and you joined me very shortly after that though I had insisted you stay out," smiling when his wife did at his words before he was continuing.
"Love," Rick said, looking up at his wife from the oven and seeing she was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "I told you to stay out you know."
"Oh, I know," Kate said, smiling at him. "But I was awfully lonely on my own Rick."
Watching her, Rick breathed out heavily since she was smiling at him and he said, "I…" before she was walking up to him. He couldn't stop her, and he wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could once she reached him before they were kissing. He couldn't help himself and made it a passionate kiss, holding onto her as tightly as he could until they needed to breathe. He smiled and said, "I have to turn my attention to dinner my love."
"You have more than enough time," Kate told him. They were kissing deeply a second time suddenly as she ran her hands over his shoulders until they were stopping for another breath. "Rick, I…" she began to say before the timer she had for cooking went off. She sighed in slight frustration as her husband hurried to the oven and took out their slices of turkey he had cooked. She shook herself of her reaction then, dashing over to him to help him as she got the pan of potatoes he'd made in the oven as well.
"Kate," Rick told her though he knew he couldn't stop her. They were getting the brussels sprouts she'd taught him to make and he said, "I will set the table," firmly.
"Of course love," Kate said, smiling at his firm tone of voice. She went to the dining room and stood on the other side of the table, watching her husband when he came into the room with plates in his hands. "You make a very good plate for dinner Rick," she told him.
Smiling at her, Rick went around to her and kissed her tenderly before he was going back into the kitchen. His last necessity; since their utensils had been on the table for a while; were their drinks and he poured out some wine for them both before taking the glasses to the table. He paused for a moment when he saw where she was sitting before his wife was talking first as she was smiling again at him.
"I would feel very strange sitting there Rick," Kate told him as she inclined her head towards his chair. She took her glass from him, thanking him before she waited for him to sit at the head of the table. "But thank you for cooking tonight."
Smiling and nodding, Rick said after they had tapped their glasses together, "It was no problem my love." He sipped at his wine and then started to eat before he was saying, "I hope it's swell enough to eat though."
"It will be," Kate told him with a smile. They began to eat at that point, silent as they were sharing looks with one another until they were nearly finished. Just as she was about to pick up her fork, she was startled when her husband was grabbing her hand and she looked at him questioningly before he was gently tugging at her.
Rick was relieved when his wife was getting up and he took her on his lap before they were sitting as soon as she sat. He held her tightly and then said when they'd stopped, "Are you still hungry?"
Kate didn't answer at first, turning to her plate and pulling it over to them before she allowed her husband to pick up her fork. She allowed him to feed her as she was returning the favor and they were caressing each other more and more after each bite. When their plates were clear she was leaning down to him, kissing him as hard as she could on the lips. Feeling him groan against her mouth she was shivering momentarily with delight at the sensation before their tongues were rolling around together. When they parted, she pressed her forehead to his and then reached for his shirt telling him, "Oh Rick, I want you to take me."
"I will," he promised her, pushing up her skirt as fast as he could to expose her to him.
"I need to stop there," Castle said as he realized what he was saying. He breathed out a little hard and said to her, "We were alone… I couldn't stop myself."
Smiling at him, Beckett let her fingers lightly brush against the hair that was hanging on his forehead and said, "You don't think I could either? I mean I did help you since I didn't take off your shirt."
"Well…" Castle said, laughing softly as she pinched him lightly.
"Maybe you better talk about something else," Beckett said firmly.
"You want another memory?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he said, "Okay," before he continued with, "It's a week later."
"A week later?" Beckett asked in surprise.
"Yes," Castle said. "But first maybe we should lay down."
"Alright," Beckett replied, smiling before they were kissing each other. She somehow knew already that it was going to be their goodnight and after they parted she told him, "I love you Rick."
"I love you too Kate," Castle said firmly. He kissed her a second time, trying not to make it too rough, before they were parting and he said, "Let me?"
Beckett smiled before she nodded and moved off him so he could lay down, moving to follow him swiftly until she was pressed against his side. "What was so special about that day?" she asked him once she was settled.
"That night," Castle replied. "We had dinner with only our daughters and of course I'd like to let you know their ages."
"I think that was a given," Beckett replied. "You can start."
"Julia was twenty-seven, Eliza was almost twenty-two, Alexis was almost twenty-one and Josie was nineteen," Castle told her. "I made hot dogs on the outdoor grill I had made, I used wood on it since I wasn't a big fan of charcoal. To be honest I thought it was safer. You had made our sides with the girls already and you were outside watching them playing with the horseshoe game I made for us." He felt Beckett cuddle closer to him and he held her a little more tightly before he continued with the story. They would fall asleep after he'd taken the memory all the way to its end, and as close as they were at that moment would sleep peacefully until Sunday morning.
"Oh! I was close!" Julia said as she took her turn throwing a horseshoe to the spike in the ground.
"Very, that was a swell shot," Rick called to her.
"Thank you Da," Julia told him with a smile.
"My turn," Elizabeth said firmly.
"Alright," Rick said as his wife walked over to him with a platter. "Dinner's ready so-" he started to say when he heard a clank of metal on metal.
"I got it!" Elizabeth said happily.
"Girls," Kate told them to get their attention. "It's time to eat you know."
Sighing Alexandra said, "It's my turn next."
"We'll remember," Rick reassured her, having finished getting the hot dogs off the grills. He then put ashes on the wood to extinguish it, smiling at Josephine as she'd gone over to stand with him. "I'm all set honey."
"I know," Josephine replied easily before she was smiling as her father was laughing.
"I nearly forgot you would put out the fires," Rick told her. "I'm so sorry."
"I don't mind Da," Josephine was quick to tell him. She smiled and told him, "You do that now?"
"I must," Rick replied, putting his arm around her shoulders as they headed to the house so they could wash their hands. "But I'll let you this winter, it wasn't much anyway."
Josephine laughed briefly and hugged her father tightly, kissing his cheek before she was going into the bathroom with her sisters.
"Are you alright love?" Rick asked his wife with a smile as he went to the kitchen.
"I am, wash your hands Rick," Kate told him firmly.
"You're no fun at all," he told her though he was speaking jokingly. Rick washed his hands quickly before he moved to his wife and gathered her into his arms. He only had a moment to kiss her before they were rushing to let go of one another while their daughters were coming into the kitchen.
"Help me take everything girls," Kate said quickly so they wouldn't comment on their obvious embrace. She was relieved when the girls were silent, and they worked together to move everything out to the picnic table Rick and Patrick had made for them.
"Let's have a cheer for this dinner," Rick was saying once they were ready.
Kate laughed softly when the girls were immediately cheering though they didn't let it last long as they were starting to tap their glasses together. Once they had finished, she said, "Thank you, but your da made these hot dogs so let's eat."
Rick smiled at the way the girls complimented him for the food after they'd started to eat. He was going to compliment them on their work for the meal when his wife was turning the conversation to something else.
"You're all staying here tonight," Kate stated.
"I will," Josephine said, her sisters agreeing with her shortly after. "You didn't think we would?"
"I thought you would head up to Mt. Tam," Kate explained.
"No, we'll be going on Sunday," Julia was saying rapidly. "The others decided to stay at home and we'll go up then."
"Hmm, what are you going to take?" Kate asked them.
"We'll make sandwiches, take some cheese and apples," Elizabeth answered. "Maybe I'll fry some potatoes as well, make some chips."
"We'd like to take some cookies as well," Alexandra said.
"You can, you're lucky you know what we'll have after this dinner," Rick told the girls before they were laughing softly.
"What will we do tomorrow though?" Josephine asked.
"I believe we'll go into town," Kate said. "I'll need some fabric for a new skirt."
"I'd like some to make one for myself," Julia said.
"Would you girls like to come along?" Kate asked them.
"We could go for a walk through town," Elizabeth said, looking at her father.
"I'd appreciate that," Rick said.
"I'd like to go along," Alexandra said to her mother.
"Very well. Then I suppose it's the three of us," Rick said to Elizabeth and Josephine.
"Do we need to walk around the shop Da?" the latter said.
"I think so, but we'll take a look at the bookshop a few times," Rick told them.
"A few times?" Kate asked him as the girls were looking at each other in confusion.
"Well, you three will want to go as well right?" Rick explained to her.
Laughing, Kate said, "I see. And thank you for that as I would like to see what might be new."
"I think we should go to the diner as well," Julia said. She smiled when her family all looked at her and said, "I would pay for it."
"You wouldn't need to," Rick said firmly.
"But I do have the money for it," Julia protested.
Shaking his head Rick said, "Save your money; you never know when you may need it."
"But there's a boom going on now," Elizabeth said.
"Yes, but you never know when you may need it yourself," Rick replied. "We never knew what was going to happen to us the last decade."
"I remember," Julia said with a brief nod. "But what about you and Ma?"
"Don't worry," Rick assured her. "We'll have more than enough for our lunch tomorrow. Now I'll have some more of that wonderful salad."
Kate smiled at her husband before she was finishing her hot dog and then her lemonade that Josephine had made for them. "I hope we'll wait for our ice cream," she said to her daughters.
"Why?" Alexandra asked.
"You want to play with the horseshoes?" Julia asked with a smile.
"I'd like to," Rick said before his wife could answer. "But first we'll all take everything in and clean so your ma won't be stuck with it."
"We were going to already Da," Elizabeth said in amusement before she and her sisters were getting up and starting to take things from the table.
"Sit down Ma," Julia told her. "We'll take care of everything."
"You too Da!" Elizabeth was calling back to him.
"Should I?" Rick asked his wife.
Kate's response to him was to reach up and take his hand, squeezing it tightly before saying, "They'll be awfully sore if you don't."
"That's true," Rick said, moving her hand from his so he could sit next to her. As soon as he was settled, he wrapped his arms around her and they were kissing passionately at his direction.
Though she knew their daughters could come out at any moment, Kate couldn't stop or get her husband to until they were breathless. When they were parted and leaning their foreheads against each other she murmured, "You're going to make the girls sick doing that."
Looking over at the door to the house, Rick said with a smile, "I think they're still working. But I'll stop now." He took her hand and brought it up to his lips and asked her, "Would you like to play?"
"I hope you'll tell the girls why we are," Kate said, standing up and taking his hand.
"Of course," Rick said before he followed her quickly around the table. They got the horseshoes and standing by the spike he urged her to throw first before he was following.
"Hey!" Josephine said jokingly when she and her sisters came to the top of the stairs and spotted their parents playing.
"Don't worry," Rick said in a mock annoyed tone. He then smiled as the girls were walking over to them and said, "I wanted to play with your ma a bit before we all played together." He went to pick up the horseshoes and asked them, "Are you awfully sore?"
"No, but we can play now can't we?" Alexandra asked.
"We may," Kate said with a smile. "Girls, start and please go youngest to oldest."
Giving a mock suffering sigh, Rick told the girls, "I suppose that means I'm last again."
"It's not that bad Da," Julia told him.
"She's right, you'll see how we all do first," Kate told her husband. She smiled when he took her hand and squeezed it before they were watching as their daughters were starting to throw their horseshoes. They cheered them before it was her own turn, and she threw before she was smiling at Josephine as she hugged her briefly.
"That was swell Ma," Julia said.
"You're not sore, are you?" Kate asked since the young woman had some trouble throwing horseshoes.
"No, but I hope we'll be able to play badminton," Julia commented. She smiled when her mother laughed before they were applauding as Rick had made it to the spike.
They went through another turn each a second time before Kate suggested to the others that they move to badminton. She wasn't surprised when Julia squeezed her arm before she went with her husband to the garage to get what they needed.
"We'll play together love?" Rick asked his wife when they were inside the building.
"Fresh," Kate told him immediately with a smile. She nodded her head before they were sharing a tender kiss.
Rick couldn't quite let her go and he lingered for a moment before he brushed another to her lips until he forced himself to let her go. He couldn't do so completely, taking her hand before they left the garage to rejoin their daughters to start playing again and spend time with them the rest of that summer evening.